Opera House, Boston, USA
William, It Was Really NothingThis was one of the best shows of the American leg of the Meat Is Murder tour. Boston loved the Smiths and the crowd gave the band a very enthusiastic and energetic welcome. The love must have traveled both ways because Morrissey made sure that the audience knew how much they were appreciated. The band came back for three encores before the end was brought by a massive stage invasion.
Nowhere Fast
I Want The One I Can't Have
Jeane
What She Said
How Soon Is Now?
That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore
Stretch Out And Wait
Shakespeare's Sister
Rusholme Ruffians
The Headmaster Ritual
Hand In Glove
Still Ill
Meat Is Murder
/Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now
/This Charming Man
//Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want
//Miserable Lie
///Barbarism Begins At Home
"Handsome Devil" was dropped from the setlist, but "Jeane" and "Barbarism Begins At Home" were added for the first time on this leg of the tour. The latter had been a regular when the band was in the UK earlier in the year, but it had been dropped when they crossed the ocean. "Jeane" had only been played for a few early 1983 dates, then shortly in 1984 and for some strange reason, ressuscitated in the States despite never having been released there.
As the band came on stage Morrissey greeted the audience with a simple "Good evening!". After "I Want The One I Can't Have" he said "Thank you, all you troublemakers." After "Jeane" he just said "Jeane", perhaps as an answer to a fan enquiring about the song. "How Soon Is Now?" was the song that broke the Smiths in the USA so it's no surprise it was loudly cheered as soon as the first notes were heard. "Stretch Out And Wait" was unreleased in the USA at the time. Morrissey acknowledged this fact by introducing it with the words "This is one that slipped through the net... it's called 'Stretch Out And Wait'." The version performed in Boston was still the single version, not the later alternate one with different intro. After the song Morrissey thanked the audience again, this time with "I know, all the corny little statements, such as... thank you for your support, thank you for your letters, they mean a great deal, thank you..."
"Still Ill" was introduced with a quick shout of its title. In "Miserable Lie", Morrissey cheekily changed two lines to "It means I'd like to be your underwear." After that song he shouted "We love you, goodbye!" before everyone returned backstage. He and the band returned for a third encore, "Barbarism Begins At Home", preceded by more words of love from Morrissey: "Thank you, we thought you were so sweet, thank you!"
Two different audience recordings of the complete set are out there. The best of the two sounds quite good. Its only flaw - a very minor one - is that the beginning of "Hand In Glove" fades in. The other recording sounds static-y and will not be appealing to non-completists. Both recordings have found their way onto the internet.
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